The 85
million U.S. dollars cement plant, situated in Harare and poised to become a
regional cement export hub, was built by Chinese firm Sinoma over two years up
to 2016.

The
state-of-the-art cement plant, with an annual production capacity of 700,000
tonnes, is the firm’s third plant in Zimbabwe and boosts the firm’s installed
production capacity to 1.8 million tonnes annually from 1.1 million tonnes.

Mugabe
thanked the South African-owned firm for the investment, which will enable the
company to meet Zimbabwe’s national cement demand estimated at a million tonnes
annually.

“I am
informed that PPC plant, the newest and among the largest in the country, uses
newest and exceptional technology,” Mugabe said.

“I wish to
commend and congratulate PPC Zimbabwe for investing in this state-of-the-art
plant,” he added.

Mugabe
thanked the Chinese contractor Sinoma for its expertise and installation of
cutting edge technology at the cement plant, the first ever in Zimbabwe.

“The plant’s
design and construction was done in adherence to global emissions standards,
thanks to the technology and expertise from PPC’s Chinese partners,” he said.

The plant has
a state-of-the-art palletizer and plastic cover wrapping machine. The machine is
automated and packs 40 bags of cement into a pallet in a neat unit. The
palletizer helps to improve output, making life easier and improving service
delivery to customers.

Zimbabwean
industry minister Mike Bimha said the integrated cement milling plant was a
milestone in the advancement of Zimbabwe’s economy.

He said by
building the plant, PPC had shown its commitment to the growth and development
of Zimbabwe’s economy.

PPC Limited
group chairman Peter Nelson said the new plant will enable the firm to become a
cement export hub in the region.

Apart from
PPC Zimbabwe, Zimbabwe has two other cement producers, Larfarge Zimbabwe and
Sino-Zim with installed capacity of 450,000 tonnes and 250,000 tonnes
respectively.